Executive mayor engages with villagers
The project that was worth 16 million to build a reservoir had gone down the drain, but the district’s executive mayor and the GTM mayor had put the blame on the community.
MABOTSHA – The Sekhukhune District Municipality’s executive mayor Cllr David Mogobo Magabe recently embarked on a monthly outreach to Tubatse villages. He was accompanied by Mr Ralepane Mammekwa, mayor of the Greater Tubatse Municipality (GTM), who also noted issues that were among his responsibilities.
On September 12 Magabe held a stakeholder meeting with the residents to hear about their problems. This was a good platform for them to engage directly with the mayor and table their dissatisfaction with regard to service delivery. The villagers mentioned many issues which had been tabled before but had never been resolved.
Every month he engages with a particular village to speak about their concerns. Community members spoke about issues that included the scarcity of water and ventilation improved pit (VIP) toilets which were the core function of the Sekhukhune District Municipality.
Some spoke about the poor infrastructure which included lack of electricity, bridges and proper roads in some areas. Among other problems were the lack of a community hall, library, clinic, information centre and street lights.
Though some of the issues mentioned were not the district’s constituency, it facilitated with sector departments to ensure issues received attention. The executive mayor went to the nearby hill in the area to see a water project that was started but never completed.
The project that was worth 16 million to build a reservoir had gone down the drain, but the district’s executive mayor and the GTM mayor had put the blame on the community. They stated that it was the project steering committee, ward councillor and the community’s responsibility to do follow ups and to ensure that the project was completed.
“We need an information centre and a library in our area because it’s hard for us to get information. We are ready to learn and become educated but without good facilities it is difficult to develop our youth,”said a resident, Ms Tiko Lesese.
